Regional Tensions

Jacobin Frames Highlighting Exclusion of Taiwanese Voices in Conversation About Possible Crisis as “Warmongering”

American leftist magazine Jacobin continues to plumb the depths of bad writing on Taiwan that does not bother to consult Taiwanese voices about their own future, with a recent article by Chicago-based writer Branko Marcetic. Instead of anything like, say, speaking to Taiwanese to see what they think of the odds of conflict with China are, what one instead sees is the usual insularity of western leftists who are more concerned with projecting the specter of American empire onto the non-western world to self-flagellate about themselves rather than finding pragmatic solutions to avoid conflict...

Questions Raised About Normalization of Chinese Military Drills, Following Live-Fire Exercises Around Taiwan

It remains opaque as to whether military drilling by China around Taiwan will continue in the coming days. Namely, although the People’s Liberation Army initially announced that its four days of live-fire drills would end on Sunday, yesterday it announced that military exercises in the area would continue. The drills are an escalation for the Chinese military, seeing as they take place closer to Taiwan than took place during the Third Taiwan Straits Crisis...

First Day of Chinese Live-Fire Drills Around Taiwan See Missile Launches, Relative Calm in Taiwan

Today was the first day of live-fire drills conducted by the People’s Liberation Army in maritime areas around Taiwan. The drills are as close as 20 kilometers to metropolises such as Kaohsiung, Taiwan’s major southern port city, and are nine kilometers away from the island of Little Liuqiu. Another zone was added by the Maritime and Port Bureau for ships to avoid during the drilling, which is to last until Sunday, bringing the number of such zones to 7...

Comments on Draft By Former NSC Official Gesture Toward Pan-Green Criticisms of Draft Length

Former National Security Council secretary-general Ting Yu-chou criticized the four-month draft in recent public comments. The comments were made by Ting, who served as secretary-general of the NSC under the Chen administration, at a book launch by Chang Rong-feng. Chang was a former Lee Teng-hui administration security official...

Biden Comments Suggest Disapproval of Pelosi Visit to Taiwan

A scoop by the Financial Times on Tuesday reported that US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi planned to visit Taiwan next month. However, US president Joe Biden surprised today with apparent off-the-cuff comments suggesting that his administration viewed the Pelosi visit as a bad idea. When asked about the prospect of a Pelosi visit, Biden stated, “Well, I think that the military thinks it’s not a good idea right now. But I don’t know what the status of it is”...

從臺灣到烏克蘭:戰爭年代的地緣政治重組與反殖民團結

儘管在俄國入侵之前,烏克蘭和東歐地緣政治都與臺灣人的意識相去甚遠,但開戰以來,卻激起了關於美俄中帝國競爭、以及臺灣備戰能力的熱烈討論。就在2022年2月24日攻擊開始之後,臺灣登上了推特的趨勢排行榜,因為世人一致注目於中國和美國將要如何回應烏克蘭的地緣政治衝突。問題在於中國是否將與俄國結盟對抗西方的一切批評,以及衝突在歐洲開展之際,美國將如何調整它在亞洲太平洋區域的軍事和外交戰略。在這層意義上,即使臺灣與烏克蘭各有不同歷史,影響兩者的地緣政治動力各不相同,這場戰爭仍讓人感到與臺灣命運休戚相關。臺灣的統派和獨派陣營,都用「今日烏克蘭,明日臺灣」這個口號表達戰爭的急迫。這句口號出自先前的「今日香港,明日臺灣」。...

WHO Push for Taiwan Quieter This Year, With Shift Away From COVID Narratives Globally

The annual meeting of the World Health Assembly, the governing body of the World Health Organization, is currently taking place from May 22nd to May 28th. Taiwan was allowed to participate in the WHO as an observer from 2009 to 2016 under the Ma administration. But after the Tsai administration took power, Taiwan was not allowed to participate, as a result of Chinese pressure. As with past years, Taiwan has sought to call attention to its exclusion from the WHA and WHO, to call for its inclusion as an observer. Nevertheless, efforts to gain admittance to the WHA have been comparatively quiet this year, compared to past years....